NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter has exceeded the space agency’s expectations. The lightweight chopper has already finished 5 flights since it was deployed on the Martian surface by NASA’s Perseverance rover.
As per a CNN report, that was supposed to be the mission for the small rotorcraft. But since it’s still functional, the space agency might push it even further for new missions that push the boundaries of extraplanetary aviation even further.
“We have already been able to gather all the flight performance data that we originally came here to collect,” said Bob Balaram of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “Now, this new operations demo gives us an opportunity to further expand our knowledge of flying machines on other planets.”
Future of aerial exploration
If everything goes as per the plan, the helicopter will take off for the sixth time to examine nearby rock features before landing on a different airfield. According to NASA, this flight is the first of Ingenuity’s “operations demonstration phase.” It means that the aircraft will now find ways of aerial exploration on the Red Planet for future missions.
“The Ingenuity technology demonstration has been a resounding success,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “Since Ingenuity remains in excellent health, we plan to use it to benefit future aerial platforms while prioritizing and moving forward with the Perseverance rover team’s near-term science goals,” he added.
Record-breaking flight
For its sixth flight, the helicopter will fly at a height of 33 feet in the southwest direction and click colored images of the area before landing at its new base called “Field C.” During the flight, it will also aim to break its groundspeed record, traveling at 9 mph.
Ingenuity has a peak power of 350 watts allowing the blades to spin at 2,500 revolutions per minute. The chopper packs two cameras – one is a black-and-white camera pointed towards the ground for navigation. While the other camera is a high-resolution sensor placed to capture the horizon. The Ingenuity helicopter weighs just 1.8kg and doesn’t have any scientific equipment aboard.
